The Illinois Fighting Illini (12-15, 4-10) blew another second half lead on Sunday night, falling to the Wisconsin Badgers (17-10, 9-5) by a final score of 69-60. The Illini were on top 46-33 with 12:22 minutes remaining in regulation, and the Badgers proceeded to go on a fairly incredible 36-14 run to close things out.
This was the second and final scheduled meeting between the two teams so, barring another meeting in the conference tournament, Wisconsin has swept the season series.
Malcolm Hill had another great game, leading Illinois with 20 points on 7-17 shooting. Wisconsin's leading scorer was freshman big man Ethan Happ, who also had 20 points.
*****
The officiating was way less than sub par towards the end of the contest, and it showed in the 26-12 foul discrepancy. Here are some highlights of Ted Valentine and his crew because they're the ones that stole the show.
I do not have the comedic chops necessary to provide the caption this deserves. pic.twitter.com/uO0rY0KJkb
— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) February 22, 2016
Hmm. pic.twitter.com/CA7ix8QksE
— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) February 22, 2016
That is a damn charge.
Bad officiating aside, though, Illinois completely blew this game. They have no one to blame but themselves for that horrible, horrible second half effort.
That's all I've got. See you in the comments, and don't forget to grade Illinois' performance in the poll at the bottom.
Illinois Fighting Illini Stats
Wisconsin Badgers Stats